KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 2): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR has lost another member of Parliament after Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung announced his resignation from the seat on Friday.
The resignation came after Lee revealed that his PKR membership had been suspended for three years. He said he had submitted his resignation letter to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker on Thursday and would also quit the party on Oct 5.
In a statement, Lee said he believes his outspoken views on various issues affecting the public were among the reasons for his suspension. These included the Urban Renewal Act (URA), the system for recruiting foreign workers, the sales and service tax (SST), unfairness in university admissions for STPM holders, and Selangor’s guidelines on non-Islamic places of worship.
He said he could not accept receiving an MP’s salary while being unable to perform his duties after his party membership was suspended.
Lee also criticised the Anwar-led federal government for failing to take the country in the right direction.
This included the government being implicated in various controversies, particularly the “corporate mafia” allegations, which accused the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission of allegedly aiding a group of businessmen in taking control of publicly listed companies.
“I am increasingly confused and finding it difficult to understand the direction of this government,” he said.
Lee’s resignation makes him the fourth PKR MP to vacate his parliamentary seat since tensions within the party intensified following its leadership election last year, which saw former economic minister Datuk Seri Mohd Rafizi Ramli lose the deputy presidency to Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Rafizi, together with former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, resigned as the MPs for Pandan and Setiawangsa respectively in May. They have since taken over Parti Bersama Malaysia and clashed with PKR in the Johor election in June.
Another Rafizi ally, Wong Chen, also resigned as the Subang MP effective Aug 10 this year and joined Bersama.
With Lee’s resignation, PKR’s representation in the Dewan Rakyat falls to 26 MPs, while Pakatan Harapan holds 75 seats. The unity government now has 149 MPs, just one more than the 148 votes needed for a two-thirds majority.
The reduced number of government backbenchers could make it more difficult for the Anwar administration to push through constitutional reforms, including the proposed separation of the attorney general and public prosecutor roles, and a 10-year limit on the prime minister’s tenure, both of which require a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
The Parliament is set to convene on Oct 5 and sit until Dec 8.